


Koharu & Glub (in the tub)

by Ravager_Zero



Series: Nexus Station [1]
Category: Nexus Station, Original Work
Genre: Alien Sex, Consentacles, Engineering, Other, Science Fiction, Space Stations
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-07-01
Updated: 2019-07-01
Packaged: 2020-06-02 03:32:57
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,551
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19433065
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ravager_Zero/pseuds/Ravager_Zero





	Koharu & Glub (in the tub)

Koharu felt the hull shiver beneath her magboots as something sailed past her visor. Tracking overlays labelled it as drive coolant from a departing ship. She turned, tracing the debris path back to the originating ship. A large ship, using cold gas thrusters to manoeuvre around the station and clear its own drive wake. Mechanical noise traveled through her magboots as the station raised a capture magsail between her and the departing ship. She turned back to the task at hand.

The main thermal feed and radiator couple for one of the gas-phase modules had eroded past allowable safety margins. Normal wear and tear, but replacing it was a major maintenance issue. Koharu toggled the AR overlay to show the positions of the other members of the maintenance crew. Everyone was in place, and Al was already testing the couple for residuals before starting the dismounting process. A message alert flashed up in her display.

_Gravity Reminder: 0.56G  
Tangent Velocity: 27.7ms-1_

Al’s voice crackled slightly over the radio. “Residuals show clear. System flushed and purged. Al-rahim and Benson to radiator coupling; Otieno and Karlsson to module coupling.”

Koharu moved back, then stepped around a corner of the hull, setting her tools down next to the coupling, making sure to lock the pack in place first. She unstrapped the power driver first, to dismount the locking arms. The AR overlay showed Karlsson already working on the far side, doing the same. Six locking arms, three each. And no racing. She could almost hear Al’s voice in her head. Get it done right. The locking arms were easily freed, meaning the next task was dismounting the radiator couple itself. Massive, and awkward, but the most complex part was moving it, not dismounting it. It would have been nice to spin down the station, but then the residents would complain—vociferously—about the temporary lack of forces holding them to the hull.

The mass of the radiator couple was a secondary problem. There was a maintenance pod waiting to catch it the moment it was clear of the station’s superstructure. Koharu stepped around the unit, her visor flashing up a warning as she did so.

_Off-axis Gravity: 0.1G Lateral_

It was only a slight shift, but without training a person would constantly try to correct it due to feeling like they were falling slightly sideways. _To be fair, I kind of am_ , Koharu thought, flicking away the AR warning with trained eye movements. She needed to be around this side to release the final mounting clip. Installation lugs kept it rotating with the station after the clips were released. 

“All clips clear, counterspin end,” she radioed Karlsson.

“All clips clear spinward,” he replied. “Pod approach authorised. Standing clear.”

Koharu stood, using the radiator couple to help her inner ear agree with her eyes as to how she was balanced. She kept walking counterspin, until she was several metres clear of the couple. “All personnel now clear.”

“Pod 2 confirms, visual on clear. Matching rotation for the grab.”

Koharu watched as the pod seemed to corkscrew on its approach, thrusters firing in tiny bursts. The spiral slowed, and suddenly the pod was stationary—relative to her. Both waldos extended, taking hold of the radiator couple, lifting it towards the spindle. As soon as it was clear, the pilot fired the thrusters, seeming to launch sideways as the pod drifted backwards—but that was only the station’s rotation as the pod was reducing its velocity to make a safe approach to one of the spindle airlocks.

Pulling up a task list on the AR overlay, Koharu ran down it until she found the next assignment for her and Karlsson.

“Manifold inspection. B check. Drones.”

“Copy. Drones deployed in spinward manifold.”

Koharu unstrapped the drone case from her own pack and launched the inspection bots into her manifold. “Drones deployed in counterspin manifold. Syncing visual feeds.”

Both Koharu and Karlsson were now sharing the entire AR overlays and all drone imagery, checking for any damage or wear that might degrade the efficiency of the new radiator couple. Cooling the internals took a lot of fluid cycling, at considerable pressure. Anything entrained in that coolant was likely to erode whatever it passed through. Visually, the manifold appeared in good condition. Measurements from the drones confirmed the initial assessment. A handful of erosion patches were noted, found to be within tolerance, and logged for the next inspection. Erosion from the previous inspection was also tested, and once again found to be within allowable limits.

Karlsson’s voice crackled over the radio, and one of the AR screens refocused on his data. “That patch looks a bit rough—drones really say it’s within tolerance?”

“Drones say it’s fine.” But ‘within tolerance’ didn’t mean ‘no cause for concern’. “Log a report with Maintenance Control, we hold at this stage until they give us clearance to proceed.” Koharu then toggled her radio over to Al’s channel. “Al, this is Otieno, we have a log issue for MC resolution. Holding until we’ve got clearance.”

“Acknowledged.” Al’s voice dropped to a more casual tone, and the overlay showed him keying in Karlsson’s channel as well. “Take a break you two, maybe test out your bladder bags so the EC guys know they still work.”

“Our bladders or the bags?” Karlsson shot back.

“Not the EC guys?” Koharu asked with forced innocence.

Everyone laughed.

Koharu sat, somewhat awkwardly, then de-synced her visor from Karlsson’s and opened up her messages. There was one new message, and she glanced over to open it.

 _> From: Ambassador Glub_  
_> To: Koharu Otieno_  
_> Re: Celebratory Dinner_  
_>_  
_> As your mindspike touches on conclusions, I have gained positioning of superiority to that previous. Excitement is anticipated for the sharing of evening ingestion in dim atmospheres. The lightness pool has drifted to our access, and the recommendation is of fine garments over waterproofing for your skin. The lightness pool is of exclusivity for this evening, so the wearing of only an overgarment is also accepted as outcome. I should like to hear of your daily experiences in the emptiness ocean as this was mentioned during our prior exchangings._  
_>_  
_> ‘Glub’_

 _I can almost_ taste _your accent right now,_ Koharu laughed under her breath. _The lessons_ are _helping, but…_

Her radio crackled to life on the command channel. “Crew 7? MC here.”

“Otieno, from 7, copy.”

“Otieno, the manifold is within tolerance, barely. A new manifold is being fabricated, but won’t be ready for six days. Continue work as normal, mark eroded manifold with orange pin for visual on completion.”

“MC, copy. Complete tasks. Mark with orange pin.”

“Affirmative. MC out.”

Koharu flicked back to Crew 7’s public channel. “We all get that?”

“Solid copy, now get on with it you two.”

“Love you too, Al.”

She waited patiently as another maintenance pod manoeuvred a new radiator couple into position between her and Karlsson, setting it down against the inner rim with a soft touch that still seemed to rattle her boots. The lugs were already holding it steady, but it needed to be properly secured. The security clips were first, and as she attached the final two—on opposing sides of the couple—she set a pin with a long orange ribbon in the maintenance clips. Next came the reinstallation of the locking arms. Simple—but as she moved around, her visor flashed the off-axis gravity warning again. It always felt weird, but her magboots kept her in place as she worked.

Once the locking arms were all confirmed secure, she and Karlsson were off shift. Al and Benson were almost done with the thermal feeds. It wasn’t long before all four of them were making their way back to the inner rim airlocks. 

“So, any hot dates for tonight?” That was Benson, cheeky as usual.

“If you count two beers and a warm bed…” Karlsson shot back.

“Tempting…”

“Well, I’m still having two beers. How about you, Al?”

“My wife would kill me if she found me in your bed, Karlsson—but I think beers will be just fine. Otieno?”

“More of a cold fish, or maybe a squid…”

“Ah, how is Glub the Magnificent these days?” Benson asked.

“Well, ve got the promotion ve was after. And still has problems with the accent.”

“And one freaky celebration,” Karlsson was laughing as he slid down the ladder ahead of her. “Hentai video when?”

“If you lost some inhibitions I might let you join…” Koharu made sure to land as close to him as possible off the ladder.

“Hey Karlsson, I think that’s a dare.” Benson pulled the lever to close the outer hatch and cycle the lock.

“Benson, don’t encourage them.” Al’s voice had a long-suffering note to it.

“It’s just a bit of fun,” ve protested.

Any further conversation was muffled by the sounds of the entire crew removing their EVA suits, and stowing them in the service lockers around the airlock chamber. Down to just her undersuit, Koharu followed the rest of Crew 7 out of the lock and into the main service bay, racking and stacking all her tools. The others did the same. Next stop was the changing room. There were small privacy screens available, but they’d been together so long now that nobody cared about being seen getting changed. Every EVA shift, so about a third of their time together at work—it just didn’t matter anymore.

Koharu walked out in black jeans with a patterned flare, and a strategically positioned v-neck tee. The others waved her off. Benson called out after her. “Tell Glub I said hi!”. She gave ver a thumbs up before rounding the corner. Half gravity on the upper decks helped with putting a spring in her step after an EVA shift. She walked back to her quarters rather than use the beltway. Six hundred metres around, fifteen metres lateral, and thirty-five vertical. Deck 11, two above Upper Promenade. A walk of about fifteen minutes, plus waiting for lifts between some decks.

Changing quickly in her quarters, she pulled on very revealing two-piece before covering it with a rather more demure evening gown. Glub had said they would be celebrating—and ve wouldn’t mind the slightly mussed helmet hair if they were going swimming afterwards either. Back outside, and the beltway lights were dimmed for the start of the evening period. Koharu checked her watch for the current cycle-time. Dusk to dawn would be fifteen hours; daylight would be ten hours. A long enough night that she and Glub could get up to lots of mischief. She smiled.

Riding the beltway on deck 16, Koharu let her mind wander. She hardly even noticed the variety of other sophonts using the beltway or walking, floating, or flying under their own power nearby. Instead she was thinking about the last time she’d had a celebratory dinner with Glub, and the sucker marks ve had managed to leave in just enough visible places to be telling. Not that she’d really minded, except for needing a little salve the next few days because of the EVA undersuit.

Koharu paused at the entrance to the low-G private swimnasium Glub had leased for the night. Deck gravity was .64 G, stamped just below the official location dataplate. Up here, while her mass of sixty-three kilograms was unchanged, her nominal weight was reduced to a mere forty. It also meant things would float a little longer, and jumps were more powerful. And bellyflops stung less. Glub waved to her with a free tentacle as she opened the hatch.

The main lights were off, but a table—improvised from three lifting benches and covered with a cloth—was dotted with lower power lamps in an attempt to simulate candlelight. They lacked the slight flicker of the real thing, and the faint smell of wax. But it was still a noble effort. Koharu dogged the hatch behind her, then strode over to where Glub was resting.

“Glub, it’s good to see you again,” she couldn’t quite keep the excitement out of her voice. “So you got the promotion. I’m proud of you.”

A string of wet sounding pops, clicks, and bubble-squeaks sounded in reply. A frown formed over three of Glub’s eyes, and ve gave ver translator a sharp rap with the claw on one of ver tentacles. “Greetings from the dark and damp, friend Koharu. Ve are proud of ourself, and retreating slightly from compression. Becoming chief consul for all Sutherm on Nexus is threatening of depth, but great ocean of chancing.”

“I do hope the food is better than your last Sutherm celebration.”

Glub’s tentacles waved in a slightly agitated fashion before wrapping around behind ver. “Ve learned, perhaps erroneously extra, about human digestion, and differences of palate-tasting from sickness-inking Sutherm feast. Ve are embracing chagrin for mistaking in assumptions.”

Koharu sat, spreading her hands wide. “I was the first human you’d tried to feed—I mean, I didn’t know anything about traditional Sutherm food until I looked it up afterwards. We both made mistakes.”

“Ve are still grateful that friend Koharu remained friend after accidentally induced sickness.”

Looking over her plate, Koharu was surprised at the variety Glub had managed to put there. “Whoa—is this actual bacon?”

“Bacon-analog. Gla’zak assured ver of closest authenticity in tasting. Tomatoes are from Nexus gardens on Lower Promenade; remainder foods for ingestion are station normal.”

“I still love the effort you’ve gone to,” Koharu smiled, then her voice grew mischievous. “But I didn’t get any special Sutherm foods for you…”

“Consul Glub invited friend Koharu for feast of sensuality, preceded by meal of acquiescence and flirtation.” Ve accentuated this by taking a large qisqimwch and breaking open the shell with ver beak.

Koharu tore off a strip of bacon with her teeth, chewing thoughtfully. Swallowing the—surprisingly good, actually—not-quite-bacon, she answered. “The seduction is fun, but I think ‘lover Koharu’ is probably more appropriate than ‘friend’ at this point.”

“But friend Koharu is both, and friend title was earned first, and is of shallower waters for knowing. Not all should have depths that we are lovers.”

“You know I don’t mind, right?” Koharu took another rasher of not-quite-bacon.

Bubbles and squeaks replied again.

Koharu sighed. “I’m surprised that after becoming chief consul they didn’t give you a new translator.”

Glub rapped the box with ver claw again, and turned one of the dials slightly. Ver translated voice came out softer. “Sutherm translation is of depth, and inking, and most devices in possession are old. Swimming blackness from Rethe itself has twice entwined tentacles for new equipment, and twice broken this. Ve all are of minor despair, and accepting of resignations to difficulty. But upon the bedreef of difficulties, did friend Koharu have experiences today?”

“Just a minor hiccup, caused us some delays. The job was actually pretty simple, just putting in a new radiator couple for the gas-phase sector.”

“Of danger and excitement, or does friend Koharu sink once again her skill at assignable taskings?”

“The only danger we had was a little glob of coolant from a gas-thruster on a departing ship. Bounced off the hull about two metres from me.”

“Danger was not presented by object?”

“Well, maybe in danger of a nasty bruise—but you know our suits are reinforced,” she put down the last rasher of not-quite-bacon. “And I probably shouldn’t eat too much before going for a swim. Not if we add all those extracurriculars like last time.”

“Perhaps resting on shallows of relaxation before commencement of physical celebrations?”

Koharu moved to the pool, hiking up the hem of her dress so she could dangle her legs in the water. “Just be with me here for a while. Tell me more about Rethe; or maybe I can tell you about my first jump out of the Glieseyards.”

Glub slid into the water with barely a splash, rolling so that three of ver eyes could watch Koharu. Koharu took the extended tentacle in her hand, giving it a gentle squeeze.

“You know, that first jump wasn’t easy,” Koharu kicked her legs slowly back and forth. “Tubes and wires and contact pads everywhere. I had no idea about the wall of consciousness theory—only that my subjective time would be zero, but my body would still feel the effects of a three month voyage—fifty lightyears, on those old drives. This is before we mention the antimatter charges decorating the hull—well, the drive ring at any rate. The jump-nurse was nice though. Helped me put things where they needed to go. Made sure everything was secure.

“But I was still completely naked, except for some ‘modesty cloth’, electrodes everywhere to massage my muscles over three months of inactivity, plus two catheters, an evac tube, and nutrient drip. And I’m still grateful for the sedative in that drip. The jump and translation shock kind of blurred together, and by the time I’ve sort of focused again the jump-nurse is gently removing my catheters and telling me I can unstick all the electrodes.”

“Friend–Lover Koharu speaks of this so openly. Was she not distressed by events?”

Koharu laughed, leaning forward to caress Glub’s mantle with her free hand. “Of course I was, Glub. I was scared, and uncertain, and horribly embarrassed. And I felt pretty bad when I learned that five of the other passengers had jump sickness, and that someone else was in the infirmary in critical condition after something in their feed or electrodes broke two weeks before the jump finished. It really brought the danger of FTL jumps to the front of my mind.”

Glub gathered ver tentacles back underwater, twining them behind verself. “Sutherm were lucky. We found Khufr with tau stasis technology after only shallowest of probings in ocean of blackness. Wall of consciousness was not known until Gla’zak were meeting of understandings in tidal flows of knowing.”

“How did co-you overcome the barrier at first?”

“Ve are not greatest tide-swimmer of old currents for developings. Ve can recall mentions of filtration, and rough translation friend Koharu would call ‘soup’. Movement of water in shallow depths of ships forced Sutherm to move while instinct only. Weakness and confusion fill us after jumping, but shallowly swimming then we lacked knowledge of causes. We expand to Ikkira, and some great-tides later Khufr pass through Ikkira and notice Sutherm colony and orbital.”

“I’m not huge on human history myself,” Koharu admitted, standing so she could take off the gown. She turned around. “Unzip me, please.”

One of Glub’s tentacle claws very carefully tugged at the zip from behind. Carefully for ver—Koharu still put out her arms to balance against the sudden force. Then she pulled the gown off and laid it carefully over the back of her chair. She ran back to the pool, judging the perfect moment to launch. Glub’s three eyes blinked, then ve ducked just below the surface. Koharu jumped, spreading herself as wide as possible. Glub dove deeper.

Koharu spat out a mouthful of errant water as Glub resurfaced. “You did that on purpose.”

“Mantle-bruising is not desirable appearance for new consul on first day,” ver tentacles wrapped around Koharu to pull her close. “Or second day.”

“And covering me in sucker-hickies was appropriate for an engineer?”

“Lover Koharu was not complaining. She specifically asked to try sensation, as ve recall.”

“Fine,” Koharu kissed ver just below each eye. There was the barest hint of copper and chocolate. She wrapped her arms around Glub’s mantle, leaning in close. “Pheromones; for me?”

“Is not lover Koharu excited?”

“I am, but I was thinking we could just relax with each other for a while—we’ve got the pool all night, don’t we?”

“Consul Glub anticipated long night cycle. Ve stored items for warm or cold sleeping, if Koharu desires staying.”

Koharu rolled away, floating on her back, trying to wrap an arm around one of Glub’s tentacles. “Of course I’m staying. We’re going to celebrate your promotion—but first I want to swim around without being in a hardsuit. Doesn’t hurt to warm up a bit first either.”

Gently dislodging Glub’s tentacle from her arm, Koharu drifted back to the edge of the pool and flipped around, placing her feet against the edge. Launching forwards she dove under the surface then kicked out hard, just seeing Glub jetting past out of the corner of her eye. She rose, breaking the surface to take a breath, then dived again, tackling Glub in slow motion, dragging ver down. Ve played along for a moment, then jetted both of them to the surface. Koharu felt herself being lifted clear of the water.

“Hey! No fair!” She flailed about for dramatic effect, then went limp. “Okay, fine. Put me down.”

Back in the water, Koharu swam several laps, Glub jetting around below her, sometimes a pale shadow, sometimes a bright beacon, and sometimes blacker than space itself. Ve was showing off for her. Then she was looking at a blurry reflection of herself. _Definitely showing off_. She dived again, kicking off the bottom of the pool, then drifted backwards across the surface of the water. She was waiting for Glub to catch her. Ve did, ver tentacles pressing softly against her thighs, hooking around her bikini bottom. She wiggled slightly as they were pulled down.

Four shorter tentacles wrapped around her mid-section, suckers gently tickling her stomach. She pinched each of them in turn, gently unlatching them. One of them gave her butt a little slap. She rolled over, splashing around until she was face to face with Glub. She gently nuzzled the crease in ver mantle, then undid her bikini top, falling softly against Glub’s lower mantle. Ver tentacles pulled her close, and Koharu gathered as much of ver in her arms as she could.

Koharu let herself relax, falling deeper into Glub’s embrace. She could feel ver hemipenis pressing insistently at her entrance. Her hands glided across smooth, damp skin, her fingers pressing against the outside of ver cloacal slit. She pressed her forehead deeply into Glub’s mantle, sucking in a breath as she felt the ridges on ver hemipenis deep inside her. Her thumbs gently opened ver cloacal slit, and she rolled her hands over and inside, drawing out a long series of bubbles and squeaks that couldn’t be translated.

She couldn’t really ride Glub’s hemipenis—they’d discovered the problems with that the first time. But ve could do some amazing things with pressure and pulsations, and a muscular knot that absolutely filled her entrance. And inside Glub’s cloaca, Koharu’s hands could do things and reach places a hemipenis simply couldn’t. She rolled her hands so her palms were together again, then she balled each hand into a fist, gently thrusting with alternate hands. Inside herself she could feel a slowly building pulsing rhythm, seeming to press outwards from her labia up the length of her vagina. She could also feel the slight tingle from those fleshy spines around the terminal ridge.

Eyes closed, smiling, she thrust forward with one hand, fingers uncurling before gently hooking into each of ver cloacal furrows, wiggling back and forth as she traced her way down. But two hands made it even more fun, and she could trace down four of them at once, occasionally crossing or swapping. She felt a sudden contraction against her wrists. She teasingly withdrew one hand, rolling around so she could let it drift near Glub’s beak. Ver tongue against the back of her hand made Koharu shiver with excitement.

She leaned back, Glub’s tentacles supporting her now. One of the smaller tentacles was playing with her clit, placing each sucker in turn over it, then gently squeezing and releasing. The pulsing in her pussy had grown greatly in strength, so intense now it felt as if she might burst from the feeling. She wanted so much to ride that unconscionably thick shaft—but instead she leaned forwards again, her hand thrusting deep inside Glub’s cloaca, questing for that tiny mass of tendrils that would stroke the tip of a hemipenis and convince it to burst forth. Something she couldn’t do.

Instead, she gently teased two fingers between the tendrils, her thumbs and other fingers gently pinching and playing with them. There was a ring of muscle there, covered with incredibly sensitive skin. And Glub had told her exactly how to stroke it. Ve had given her almost absolute control over ver pleasure. Her eyes were still closed as she used her free hand to pull ver into an almost mantle-bruising hug. Then she stroked that little ring. It took only seconds, they’d been so worked up.

She felt the pressure deep inside her so hard it felt she might split in two—then everything deflated as a rush of warmth filled her and began to slowly ooze back the way it came. The terminal spines were flaccid by the time Glub started to withdraw. Koharu lay on top of ver, opening one sleepy eye.

“You can keep it in for a little while, if you want.”

“Lover Koharu is already finished conquest of night?”

Koharu sighed, withdrawing her hand from Glub’s cloaca, then idly began to tease her clit. “I didn’t cum—but it’s okay. I wanna relax tonight, be sensual. Maybe just edge for a little, if you want to help me.”

“Glub will always have tentacles for service of lover Koharu.” 

Ve rolled her over, ver flaccid hemipenis feeling strange twisting over her labia. One long tentacle began to massage each of her calves. Another rippled suckers against her breast. Ver four smaller tentacles met in a cross pointing towards her clit. Koharu half-sighed, making a purring sound as Glub began to play with her hair. It felt so good to just relax, to be cared for—to have so much attention just on her—and not to have to worry about social issues.

The orgasm caught her by surprise, a second of sudden tension, and then relaxation and relief as if she was melting across the water. Glub continued massaging her, ver smaller tentacles making the occasional flick or swish across her clit as they drifted aimlessly around the pool. A little while longer and she gently extricated herself from Glub’s tentacles.

“I think I’ll take a nap beside the pool here,” Koharu lay against the towel, enjoying the sudden warmth. “Maybe you could sing for me.”

 _Surfing over lives_  
_The light of rising suns_  
_Fishes move in dives_  
_And we begin to hunt_

 _We follow silver scales_  
_and fins below and under_  
_around reefs and rails_  
_because we are the hunters_

 _Come, dive and hunt with us_  
_Let the currents carry you away_  
_Turn and swim with flashing silver scales_  
_Hunt the fish that dive between the whales_

 _Drifting under waves_  
_The light from falling suns_  
_Sutherm end the hunt_  
_And ask of friends to stay_

Koharu smiled, pulling another towel over herself. “I guess you found a different use for those translation lessons.”

“Consul Glub was inking of talent for revelation to friend Koharu.”

“It paid off,” she replied sleepily, mumbling something else under her breath. She repeated it softly—but enough that Glub could hear her. “You can play with me while I sleep this time.”


End file.
